HR Connection Newsletter

VOLUME 5 SPRING 2006

Table of Contents

• Benefits Corner
• Open Enrollment Ends May 15
• Frequently Asked Questions about Open Enrollment
• Coming Soon - Hyatt Legal Plans
• Speaking Compensation
• Faculty Exit Survey
• 2006 District Staff Award Winners
• Save the Date - 3rd Annual Employee Appreciation Day
• Hooked on Books is Back
• 2006 Professional Development Workshops
• 2006 Holiday Schedule
• HR Directory



• HR Connection Home Page

Benefits Corner

Open Enrollment Ends May 15
Open Enrollment is your chance to enroll, change, or cancel your U health coverage. If you plan to make any changes to your health plan and/or Flexible Spending Account(s), you may enroll on-line at https://gate.acs.utah.edu or submit your Personalized Open Enrollment Form and/or FSA Enrollment Form by 5:30 pm on Monday, May, 15, 2006.

Submit your completed form(s) to any of the following locations:

• Benefits Department
  420 Wakara Way
• U Hospital Employee Service Center
  A024 HOSP
• Campus Employee Service Center
  135 Park
• or fax your form(s) to 585-7375

1. What if I like my current plan, do I have to change?
   Your current plan will be matched to the new options. You won’t have to do anything unless you elect Flexible Spending Account (FSA) which has to be done every year.



2. How can I control my cost with U Choose?
   You can reduce your costs depending on what plan design and provider network you choose.



3. Are there other options I can choose (like dental, Rx, etc)? EAP, dental and pharmacy are all included in your medical plan. The only option you can waive is dental. You cannot have dental without medical.



4. Do I have to change doctors?
   No, but your doctor may participate in a more cost effective network so you may want to look at the provider network options to see if your current doctor is in the provider network you want to choose.



5. Is there a no cost/low cost plan? (example: currently ValueCare Basic)
   Yes, if you choose the Basic plan design and University Health Care Plus provider network there will be no cost.



6. If I don’t do anything will I still have coverage on July 1, 2006?
   If you do not want to change your current health plan, you don’t have to do anything. Your current plan will be matched with the new options.

An Introduction

Welcome to Speaking Compensation. This is the first of many quarterly updates provided by Compensation Management—a department within the Division of Human Resources—that will discuss a variety of pay and classification-related topics.

The goal of Compensation Management (Compensation) is to establish pay and classification practices for staff positions that allow the University to attract and retain high performing employees in support of organizational goals while ensuring compliance with local, state and federal regulations.

Some of the services we provide are as follows:

• Monitoring the labor market to ensure University positions are paid competitively.
• Promoting internal pay equity between similar positions.
• Recommending specific pay practices that allow departments flexibility.
• Assisting departments with organizational structure and appropriate staffing.
• Classifying and reclassifying staff positions.
• Creating and updating job descriptions.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, primarily the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Future editions of Speaking Compensation will discuss a variety of issues that effect departmental practices, such as classification and reclassification of staff positions, overtime and compensatory pay and rules applying to travel. More information about Compensation can be found on our web site http://www.hr.utah.edu/comp/ or by calling our office at (801) 581-6206. Additionally, feel free to contact us at the number above or by sending email to Ryan Speer if you have suggestions on compensation-related topics you’d like to see discussed.

The University of Utah is committed to maintaining a creative and supportive workplace for our faculty members. As part of that commitment we are pleased to announce the creation of an exit survey for departing tenure or tenure/track faculty members. The survey is designed to obtain feedback to help us improve the work environment at the University. It will help us to understand the reasons why the University loses faculty members and to identify any areas that may require further study and inquiry. We also want to document our competitive pressures from other institutions. This survey will give departing faculty the option of allowing you to see the suggestions they have for improving the department.

When you become aware that a tenure or tenure/track faculty member is leaving the University, please inform them of this new exit survey. Faculty may access the survey electronically by clicking on the following link: http://www.hr.utah.edu/exit. This is the easiest and most effective way to complete the survey. You may also request hard copies of the survey by calling 581-5469. The hard copy can be returned directly to Human Resources.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at 581-5469.

In order to recognize the exceptional contribution of a much larger number of staff at the University of Utah, the nomination process for the Presidential Staff Awards has changed for 2006. Twenty-four District Staff Awards will be given to staff employees throughout the University. Twenty-two of these awards have been divided among the vice presidential areas according to the percent of staff who work in that area. Up to two at-large district awards will also be given.

For more information about the Presidential Staff Awards, visit www.hr.utah.edu/etc/psa/ or email Terri Crow or Thuy Nguyen.

Come out and join us on Thursday, September 28, 2006 at Olympic Cauldron Park at Rice-Eccles Stadium for Employee Appreciation Day 2005.

Check out the Employee Appreciation Day web site for details.